PUPILS who raised cash to sponsor a guide dog recently met their new best pal during a visit to the school.

Year Nine pupils of Brynmawr School took part in the Name a Puppy scheme, where they needed to raise money to sponsor a guide dog puppy.

The students immediately decided on the name Bryn as a short version of the school name for their 13-week-old labrador/golden retriever cross.

Mark Richards, head of Year Nine said: “Guide Dogs came to the school and gave a talk about what the charity does and how we could help, so that really inspired us to raise the money.

“I have regular meetings with the Year Nine student council to discuss charity events and we managed to raise £2,500 for the Name a Puppy scheme with all 140 Year Nine pupils taking part in a sponsored silence, lasting a whole lesson.

“The pupils were so excited to finally meet Bryn. They had done lots of fundraising around the area, getting the whole community involved. At that age, I’m sure they have better things to do, but they all really got into it and I’m so proud of them all.”

With the £61 the pupils had left over from the sponsored silence, they purchased a soft bed, a travel kennel and two squeaky toys for their new best friend – Bryn the dog.

The guide dog will live with puppy-walkers Susan and John Bunney until he is between 10 and 14 months old while he is trained in situations such as buses, trains, busy towns and cities and crossing roads.

Allison Charles, district fundraiser for South and West Wales, said: “We thought the name Bryn really suited him. It was great that Bryn was able to meet the pupils who worked so hard raising money for him, as I think it’s paramount that they could see him at the start of his training.”

For more information on how you can raise money for Guide Dogs or become a volunteer for the charity, call Allison on 07990 540 130.